


Baby Don't Stop

by WernickesArea



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, the "enemy" thing is very one-sided
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-20
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-03-25 17:35:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13839666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WernickesArea/pseuds/WernickesArea
Summary: College life wasn't what Donghyuck had envisioned it as.The problem weren't even his classes, since he could finally dive head first into his passion for Engineering.It wasn't neither his best friend Mark who was back at his side, nor Jaemin who called him every other day.Theproblemwas one Wong Yukhei.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this has been sitting in my drafts for two weeks.  
> time to unleash the beast

Dust tickled Donghyuck’s nose, causing him to sneeze here and there as he put stuff away inside worn-out cardboard boxes. His room was a mess, piles of books resembling miniature skyscrapers rising at the foot of his bed, with his poorly folded clothes laying above them. Some of his old middle and high school projects were sitting abandoned by his door. They were all machineries that Donghyuck had made from scraps, whirring, twitching, tiny robots that were able to complete simple tasks. His mom had insisted on keeping them, despite her son’s assurances that she could throw them away. 

( _“I’ve been called many things. Nostalgic is not one of them.”_

_“What are you talking about, sweetie? What things have you been called?”_

Of course, the Iron Man quote had flown right over his mom’s head. Donghyuck liked to channel his inner Tony Stark whenever he could.) 

Donghyuck’s passion for Engineering had always been a constant in his life, something that had been passed onto him by his dad. The afternoons that he had spent with him, welding steel pieces together and wiring circuits, were a precious memory to Donghyuck. He treasured them with all of his heart. 

His father had passed away when he was in sixth grade, a tragedy that had left a deep scar in him. Whenever Donghyuck thought back to the day when his mother had picked him up from school and drove to the hospital, he could still hear her sobs filling the inside of the car. 

It was a hard blow for his whole family, and the pain never truly left. Yet, despite the gut wrenching torment that accompanied Donghyuck whenever he thought about his father, his resolve to still pursue his passion never left him. 

There he was, years later and packing up his belongings to attend an Engineering school that he had picked himself after months of excruciating research. Leaving his mom alone pained him to no end, but Donghyuck knew that he had to do what was best for him. His dreams were right behind the corner and he was ready to grasp them in his awaiting hands. 

The last thing he made sure to pack was his collection of Michael Jackson vinyls and a couple of framed pictures of him and his family. They had been taken one winter break when his dad had decided to drive them on a surprise trip to see the snowy mountains. Mark, Donghyuck’s best friend, was in one of those pictures too. 

Mark had been his best friend since elementary school. He had always been the level headed friend, the one who balanced Donghyuck’s excitable disposition. Jaemin joined them in high school, the boy a welcome addition to their small group. He had the ability to convince Mark into partaking into some of the more ‘unlawful’ activities, like attending parties at strangers’ houses or trying some of that _good stuff_ , as Jaemin called it. 

(Donghyuck would still laugh at the memory of Mark, high off his ass, accusing Ryan Gosling of being too goodlooking for his hetero standards.) 

Because of their age difference, they had to be separated for one year; Mark leaving for college, Donghyuck and Jaemin suffering their last year of high school without him. Once they graduated, Jaemin announced that he would go work at his parents’ shop, whereas Donghyuck would attend the same college Mark had gone to. It was by pure chance that Mark’s Music school of choice and Donghyuck’s Engineering one were part of the same University. They had no intention of influencing each other’s future, but it was reassuring to have a familiar face around. 

Anyway, past talk aside, Lee Donghyuck was ready to start a new chapter of his life. The day that his mother drove him all the way to his college campus, she cried at least five separate times during the trip. It was both sad and heartwarming to see. Donghyuck felt loved, and he made sure to hug his mom extra longer when she finished helping unload his stuff and was ready to drive back home. 

She kissed his cheek, telling him how proud she was of her talented son. Donghyuck hid his face in her shirt, trying not to break down right in the middle of the parking lot where other students were strolling by. He told her that she was not going to be disappointed in him, and she answered with a kiss to his other cheek. 

That evening, Donghyuck’s roommate showed up, introducing himself. His name was Jeno, and he had one of those faces that made you want to trust him without a second thought. He was in his first year too, enrolled into the Arts department. Donghyuck was good at making friends, so it was no surprise that the two of them hit it off right away. They decided to order take out for that first night, talking about themselves and pretty much anything that came to mind.

Donghyuck had a good feeling about what the future had in store for him.

 

 

Classes wouldn’t start until the following week, so Donghyuck spent the first day after he had moved in meeting up with Mark. His friend lived in a small apartment right off campus, small enough to accommodate his two others roommates and Mark’s trusty guitar. 

Donghyuck surveyed the living space, taking in the messy kitchenette. He picked up a spoon that must have been covered in some sort of greenish mold. He grimaced.

“Disgusting. I thought your mom had taught you better than this, Mark Lee.”

“Wait til you’re living alone yourself, dude.”

“Don’t you have roommates though?”

Mark shrugged. “They aren’t around that much. They both have work until late.”

Donghyuck nodded, putting the spoon back into the swamp that was sure to form in the apartment’s sink. 

“We’re gonna meet them today, though. If that’s okay with you.” Mark added.

Donghyuck was more than okay with that, so they both made their way outside and down the street. Mark led them to a café that faced the city’s park. It was pretty big, but no one seemed to be around. Mark explained that when classes started back up again, the place was jam packed with college students. 

“We meet here to study sometimes.”

Upon entering, Donghyhuck spotted a group of four sitting where the couches were, one of them widely waving his arm to signal their presence. Mark waved back, pulling Donghyuck along. As he stood there, looking on as his friend bumped fists with all of them, Donghyuck took in the appearances of the guys sitting down. Three of them looked older, probably in their last year. The fourth one seemed to be younger, his wide eyes and puffy cheeks giving off an innocent vibe. 

“Hey guys, this is my best friend, Donghyuck. Hyuck, this is Johnny and that’s Jaehyun.” Mark pointed at two of the eldest guys. 

“‘Sup young man, I’m Johnny. Nice to meet you.” Johnny stood up to pat Donghyuck on the back. The guy was freakishly tall and well built. The _pat_ on Donghyuck’s back felt more like a martial arts finishing move. 

Donghyuck had to contain a groan. “Nice to meet you. You got a mean left-hook there.”

Johnny laughed at the younger’s quip, patting his back a couple more times. Donghyuck was sure that he must have broken his back.

“Hello, I’m Jaehyun.” Mark’s second roommate shot a charming smile Donghyuck’s way. He looked like one of those models you’d see advertising fancy colognes on giant billboards. Donghyuck was gonna interrogate Mark later about his barely-human roommates.

The next to introduce himself was the guy with the innocent face. “Hi, I’m Jungwoo. It’s really nice to meet you, Donghyuck.” 

As Donghyuck was about to answer back, the fourth guy at the table who had been fidgeting in his seat all throughout introductions, sprang to his feet. “Hello, I’m Yukhei! I’m from Hong Kong, man!” In his haste, he knocked over one of the cups that was on their table and had its content splatter all over it. Yukhei gasped, reaching for the napkins as he exclaimed variants of _Oh my God_ and _I’m so sorry!_. 

As the scene unfolded in front of everyone’s eyes Johnny groaned, shaking his head. Jaehyun was snickering, hiding his smile behind his hand, meanwhile Mark and Jungwoo let out a defeated sigh. Donghyuck raised his brows. 

Mark had _a lot_ of explaining to do. 

 

 

Despite the quite awkward incident that took place on that first encounter, Donghyuck found himself getting along with Mark’s new friends quite well. The six of them would meet almost regularly, up until classes started. Jaehyun and Johnny, being in their last year, were busy concentrating on their own studies, which left Donghyuck with a sour taste in his mouth. Don’t get him wrong, Mark’s friends were all pretty cool (not as cool as Donghyuck himself though), but without the two eldest, the dynamics of the group seemed to work against Donghyuck. 

Jungwoo was mostly a tranquil guy with a good sense of humor, which never failed to make everyone laugh. He reminded Donghyuck of Renjun, one of his summer camp friends. 

Jungwoo wasn’t the problem. Not at all. 

The _problem_ was one Wong Yukhei. 

Donghyuck had always prided himself of being the mood maker of his group of friends. He knew that he had an upbeat personality that dragged everyone along. That was why Mark was his best friend. They were opposites that completed each other, Donghyuck being the funny and cute one, and Mark being the… not-so-funny but still cute one. They were a brand, they worked well together and Donghyuck had a guarantee in that. 

Yukhei though. He was everything Donghyuck was _and more_ , if that was even possible. He was loud, annoying and _funny_. Why he even had to be so darned good-looking to top it all off was simply unnerving. 

Without Johnny and Jaehyun in the group acting as moderators to Yukhei’s overt personality, Donghyuck felt like he was missing a safety crutch. Johnny had taken a liking to Donghyuck, and always did his best to include him in every conversation. He would be interested in his passion for Engineering and would nod along to his explanations of why he would pay to suck on Elon Musk’s toes. 

(“Mark stop making that disgusted face, Elon is like, the new Jesus.”

“I can’t believe that you’re still on about this.”

“I’ll never _not_ be about this.”)

It was comforting. Donghyuck could ease himself into the new group, retaining that old role that he was so well practiced in. It was ideal. 

Yet, without Jaehyun buffering Yukhei’s loud remarks and Johnny easing Donghyuck into conversation, Yukhei was like a bulldozer. Unstoppable and loud. Donghyuck couldn’t even _breathe_ that the guy was already going on about whatever the hell it was at that moment, making Jungwoo and Mark laugh and sway. It made Donghyuck’s head spin and mood sour. 

“Are you sure you’re not just jealous?” Jaemin drawled, his voice sounding tinny coming out of Donghyuck’s laptop speakers. 

“Pfft, come on. We’re not in grade school, I’m not jealous of _him_. He’s so tall he probably doesn’t get enough oxygen up in his head.” 

Jaemin raised a brow, his pixelated face looking overly bright in the computer screen. 

Donghyuck had a hard time admitting certain things to others, but he sure could admit them to himself. He was indeed jealous of Yukhei. The guy was taking Donghyuck’s spot, and the latter was afraid that he was doing a better job at it than Donghyuck himself. 

However, despite that bump in the road, Donghyuck’s college life was good. His classes could be a tad boring, but he truly loved them. He was glad of the choice that he had made. It was still too early in the semester for them to visit the labs where the professional machineries were kept, but Donghyuck couldn’t wait to get his hands dirty with grease and steel shavings. When he had moved he hadn’t been able to bring with him all of his tools, so he was antsy to work on something. For the time being, he limited himself to sketching down ideas on his notebook. 

He was doing exactly that, sitting together with the others at their usual table in the library, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Donghyuck lifted his head, meeting eyes with Yukhei. 

He tried his best not to sound annoyed. 

“What?” 

Well, that didn’t come out as intended. 

“What’s that?” Yukhei pointed at Donghyuck’s scrapbook. 

Donghyuck could feel his right eye twitch. 

“Nothing.” He closed the notebook with a _thwack_ , and took out his readings for the following day. 

“It looked cool though!” Yukhei smiled widely at Donghyuck, giving him a thumb up. 

Why was Yukhei so persistent? Couldn’t he read a situation? 

Donghyuck shrugged, uncapping his highlighter and coloring random sentences. With that, the other boy went back to his own work too, finally leaving Donghyuck in peace. Twenty minutes later Yukhei was dozing off, trying not to fall asleep on his work. Donghyuck snickered under his breath. Airhead. 

Mark and Donghyuck were the last ones to leave the library, Jungwoo and Yukhei both leaving well before the sun went down. The two best friends were walking down the campus roads, kicking up pebbles for fun when Mark spoke up. 

“Hyuck, can I ask you something?” Mark kicked a small stone towards Donghyuck.

“Shoot.” Donghyuck kicked the stone back.

“Yukhei stopped me the other day. He wanted to know if he had done something to make you mad.” The pebble rolled against Donghyuck’s shoe sole. He almost tripped on it. 

Mark continued. “He wanted me to tell you that he’s sorry if he did.”

Donghyuck stood still, cuffing his feet against the dry cement. He didn’t want to look into Mark’s eyes, so he kept his gaze focused on his worn-out sneakers. 

“I know that it’s always been us two, well, three with Jaemin, but. You get it. Can’t you try and get along with my friends though? Especially Yukhei. Cut him some slack, dude. He’s a good guy.” 

Donghyuck nodded at Mark, still not looking at him. “Sure, _mom_.”

Mark shoved Donghyuck, who laughed and ran ahead to escape Mark’s deadly choke-hold. 

Okay, so. Donghyuck’s animosity towards the tall addition to their friends circle hadn’t gone unnoticed. Not that he had tried to hide it in the first place. Yet, knowing that not only Mark, but Yukhei himself were aware of it made things more complicated.

Donghyuck was a good friend, though. He could be bitter, petty and he could hold onto grudges for a long time, but he knew when to get it together. So, for his best friend’s sake, he tried to not let Yukhei frazzle him as much. 

He could do that much, at least. 

 

 

Before anyone knew it, time had flown by and midterms were approaching. Donghyuck was spending most of his time either working in one of the labs that his favorite professor (bless Mr. Moon) had given him access to, or studying in the campus coffee shop. The environment wasn’t exactly ideal for someone who was trying hard to cram information for midterms, but going to the library meant facing another kind of enemy. 

Since _the talk_ with Mark, Donghyuck had tried to be on his best behaviour around Yukhei, yet it was easier said than done. The boy had this ability to get under Donghyuck’s skin and be totally clueless about it. It was maddening. So, Donghyuck had opted for the only viable option: spend less time around Yukhei. Honestly, it was an easy feat, given that they all had too much work to do to really hang out together. Even when Mark asked him why he wasn’t joining them at the library anymore, Donghyuck could easily say how he had to finish some projects up in the labs. Mark would infinitesimally squint, in that way that said _You’re not being honest, but I’m not gonna ask_. 

It was solely because he was in dire need of a quiet place where he could review his notes the day before a test, that he decided to venture into the library. It was late, the sun had long set behind the horizon, and the neon lights were buzzing overhead. Donghyuck yawned, not covering his mouth with his hand. There were far worse looking students all around him, ranging from overly caffeinated to miserably drooling all over their books. Donghyuck was starting to realize the extent of that _#CollegeLyfe_ that he had heard so much about.  
It was fucking depressing. 

The usual table where his group of friends would sit at was free, so Donghyuck made a beeline straight for it. He slammed his backpack on one of the chairs. Someone from a few tables ahead glared at him. 

Donghyuck made a quick job of placing all of his notes and useful papers in front of him, and steeled himself for a night of study. Two hours had gone by, the library getting more and more deserted. Donghyuck could feel his eyes drying up, and his back was starting to hurt. He was spacing off, thinking whether a cup of coffee would be ideal or it would just kill him at that point, when a _snore_ reached his ears. 

He furrowed his brows, confused. He couldn’t have heard right. And yet, there it was again, the sound of someone snoring. It was coming from behind the tall row of shelves that stood right next to the table Donghyuck was sitting at. 

It wasn’t really his business if someone was taking a nap hidden away from prying eyes, but curiosity got the best of him. His review could wait just a little longer. 

Donghyuck stood up and peered behind the shelf. Right away he knew that he had hit the jackpot. None other than Yukhei was slumped on one of those bean bags that everyone always tried to nick from the place. A book was open on his stomach, and his mouth was hanging open so wide that Donghyuck was sure that he was close to dislocating his jaw. There was a bit of drool collecting on his shirt, too. It was a priceless moment. Donghyuck couldn’t waste time. 

He hurriedly took his phone out of his pocket and took more than enough pictures of the scene. He was trying his best not to crack up with laughter, but he felt giddy. Knowing the kind of blackmailing material that he would be holding over Yukhei after today filled him with joy. 

Donghyuck wasn’t a total monster, though. He knew that leaving a fellow student and ‘friend’ to sleep in such a place would have been evil. He pocketed his phone, crouching so that he could tap Yukhei on the shoulder. His finger didn’t even get to graze the material of the shirt when the sleeping boy’s eyes opened all of a sudden. 

If Donghyuck had to be honest, it was downright creepy. 

“Uh?” Yukhei mumbled, taking in his surroundings. He blinked twice at Donghyuck, who had his poker-face on. “... Hyuck?”

Donghyuck nodded, standing up and dusting off his jeans. 

“What year is it?” Yukhei asked slowly. Donghyuck groaned internally. The guy’s voice was already deep enough, yet it sounded even deeper. It had a rough edge to it too, probably due to the fact that he had been sleeping. 

“It’s 2083. You were in an hibernating sleep. The aliens invaded us.” Donghyuck paused. “No one is alive.” 

Yukhei scratched at his jaw. “Well, that doesn’t make sense. Why would you be here?”

Donghyuck shrugged. “I’m an alien myself.” 

“I could almost believe that.” Yukhei laughed loudly, drying the drool at the corner of his mouth with the hem of his shirt. Donghyuck grimaced. 

Since his job there was done, he was ready to flee the scene. Pack his stuff as fast as he could, go back to his room, and never have any other kind of contact with Wong Yukhei ever again. Yet, something in the way that the boy’s eyes were lined with dark eyebags and the way his mouth didn’t have its usual upwards tilt to it, didn’t sit well with Donghyuck. 

He turned towards the row of books standing next to him, and he picked one from the shelf. Then, he turned to drop it on Yukhei’s stomach.

“Oof! Hey! That hurttt!” He exclaimed, disentangling his mess of limbs and getting to his feet. His hair was standing up at the back of his head in such a way that was almost endearing. _Almost_.

Donghyuck snickered. “Puny human.” 

With that, he walked back to the table where he had left his stuff, and decided that he could finish his revision for good. He was so absorbed in his study once again that he had forgotten about the presence that had taken a seat in front of him. 

“So. Uuh… How you doing?”

Donghyuck slowly raised his head from his notes and locked eyes with Yukhei. The neon lights made his skin look pale and sickly. He looked in need of some serious sleep on a real bed, not the library’s bean bags. 

“Great.” 

It was awkward. Donghyuck wasn’t an awkward person (generally speaking, at least), but something about having a conversation alone with Yukhei probably for the first since they had met, made him feel _extremely_ awkward. 

Yukhei cleared his throat. “Do you come here often?”

“Yukhei, we come here to study. Together.” Somehow, saying Yukhei’s name out loud in front of the person himself made Donghyuck feel like he wanted to crawl into a hole. 

“I know, just. Shrug.”

“... did you just say _‘shrug’_ out loud.”

Yukhei shrugged and smiled widely. “I might have.”

Donghyuck broke into hysterics, squeezing his hands against his mouth so as not to be too loud. They were still in a library. It took him some time to collect himself, his right side hurting. Once he directed his gaze back to Yukhei, the boy was looking at him with a dumb kind of smile on his face, something that was between affectionate and proud. Donghyuck hurried to dig his nose back into his books. 

 

 

It was well past midnight, and Donghyuck’s stomach grumbled. He banged his head against the table. 

“Woah, woah! Don’t hurt yourself!”

Yukhei was still sitting in front of him and Donghyuck had no idea why. The guy looked like he could collapse any moment, and not even an air horn could wake him up. However, he was sitting there alternating between playing games on his phone and staring off into space. 

“Just let me die.” Donghyuck mumbled into his notebook. Words and formulas were swimming behind his eyelids when he closed them. Ugh.

All of a sudden, a hand was on his arm and it was dragging him up and out of his seat.

“Wh—!” 

“Here, time to leave. Let’s go get food.” Yukhei started to pick Donghyuck’s things up and putting them in his backpack. 

“You didn’t even ask me, you brute. What if I don’t want to go get food.” Donghyuck was putting up a front, mainly because the fact that Yukhei could lift him so easily had left him a little winded. 

“Let’s go get food…?” 

With a heavy sigh, Donghyuck took his backpack from Yukhei and made his way out of the library. The fresh, night air filled his lungs and ruffled his hair. It was chilly outside, the dark sky void of stars. Not even the moon was out. 

Yukhei insisted that he knew about a ramen place that Donghyuck _absolutely_ had to try out. There wasn’t much space for discussion, since the taller of the two started to walk briskly in the direction of the restaurant. Donghyuck cursed at those damned legs that were too damn long; he had to sprint to catch up to the other. 

The ramen shop was a quaint little place. From the looks of it, it was going to close soon; waiters were cleaning tables and no clients were inside. When Yukhei entered though, the guy behind the counter welcomed him with a flourish. He let the two boys sit at a tiny table at the far end of the shop. When they sat down, Donghyuck realized that their knees were knocking against each other. He could feel his face warming up, so he pulled his chair back. Yukhei didn’t seem to realize it, going on about how he went there almost every day and excitedly pointing out all his favorite dishes. Donghyuck nodded along, barely keeping up with the slew of information about how tasty the broth was or how mouthwatering the pork tasted. 

Donghyuck picked the first thing on the menu, his brain feeling too foggy to concentrate too much on anything. Yukhei turned around in his chair to shout their orders at the guy behind the counter (the owner, Donghyuck guessed). Why the boy had to be so loud in every moment was a mystery. 

While they waited for their orders, Yukhei blabbered on about whatever it was that he ever talked about. Donghyuck didn’t pay too much attention, playing around with the chopsticks in front of him and staring at a strange looking stain on the table top. Their food arrived soon after, Yukhei finally too busy scarfing down his noodles to try and rope Donghyuck into a conversation.

“You’re studying Engineering?” 

Donghyuck munched on a boiled egg, nodding. 

“Mark talked about you a lot. Before you came here.” Yukhei was talking with his mouth full. “He told us a lot of cool stuff about you.”

Donghyuck had to contain a smile. Of course Mark would be go around saying nice things about people, even when they were a little too romanticized. He saw the world through a pair of rose tinted glasses. 

“Yeah? Like what?”

“Like! That you build robots! Is it true?” Yukhei was leaning forward on his elbows, and seeing how small the table was, he was unusually close to Donghyuck. The latter wasn’t used to seeing Yukhei’s face that up close, which was for the best. Yukhei was good looking and Donghyuck didn’t do well with good looking people.

“Yeah, sort of. I build simple machineries, not the kind of robots you have in mind right now. But I did work on a battling robot once. Helped out a friend, mostly.” 

“Dude that’s hella cool!” Of course Yukhei would use the word _hella_. “You must be really talented if you got accepted into this school, and all.”

The compliments were making Donghyuck feel unusually meek. He didn’t do well with compliments either. 

“Thanks… Um… What do you do?”

Yukhei slurped down the last drop of his broth and pointed at himself in disbelief. “Me?”

“No, the fading ghost guy dressed in all white sitting behind you.”

Yukhei laughed. “I want to become a Lawyer.” 

“Oh.” For some reason, that wasn’t what Donghyuck had imagined the other studying at all. “Good luck with that then…” 

The smile that Yukhei gave him was blinding. “Thank you, I’m trying my best.”

As Donghyuck took in his ragged appearance once again, he didn’t have any doubt about that. 

They talked until Yukhei left out a yawn so wide that the owner asked them to _Go get some sleep, already_. As they strolled down the deserted streets of the campus, Donghyuck caught himself thinking that it wasn’t so bad. Yukhei had miraculously stopped running his mouth, and the silence felt nice. They stopped at an intersection.

“I live down here.” Yukhei said, pointing to the opposite direction where Donghyuck lived.

“Well. It was nice. Goodnight.” 

As Donghyuck turned around, ready to run back to his room and end that day that felt so absurd, a hand on his shoulder stopped him. 

“Should I walk you back?”

“It’s fine, dude,” Donghyuck huffed, “now, if you will excuse me.”

Yukhei nibbled on his bottom lip, seemingly thinking something over. “Ah! Can I get your number?” 

Donghyuck felt like he had entered the Twilight Zone. 

“...why?” 

“So we can hang out again?”

The fight had left Donghyuck at some point during the night. He was but the shell of the man that he once was, and his body acted on simple reflex. He took out his phone and handed it to Yukhei, who punched in his number. His hands were so big that he could easily type on Donghyuck’s Samsung using only his right one (Donghyuck always had to use both of them). 

As Yukhei handed the phone back, he added: “Just text me whenever, okay?” 

“Sure.” With that, Donghyuck all but sprinted back to his apartment block, up the stairs and into his room, where he collapsed into bed. Jeno was already asleep in his bed, which was for the best, seeing as he had a tendency to ask Donghyuck far too many perceptive questions.

Lying there in complete silence, he was torn between thinking about what had just happened and thinking about _not thinking_ about what had just happened. It was trippy. Eventually, exhaustion overcame Donghyuck, who fell asleep with his thoughts messily tangled.


	2. Chapter 2

The alarm clock blared noisily on Yukhei’s nightstand. He groaned in his pillow, blindly reaching for the _Snooze_ button. Once he hit it, he debated whether waking up right away or ‘resting’ his eyes just for a minute longer. The less responsible part of him won, and he ended up hitting snooze another three times before he realized that he was going to run late for class. 

Kun, Yukhei’s roommate, had left him breakfast on the counter, still warm and smelling delicious. There wasn’t a day that went by when Yukhei didn’t thank the heavens for blessing him with such a roommate. Kun did tend, more often than not, to act like his mother, scolding him when he ate take-out too many times in a week or when he fell asleep on the living room floor instead of his own bed. But he was also one of the funniest people Yukhei had ever met, his dry humor a welcome change to Yukhei’s own childish one. 

Once he had stuffed his mouth with eggs and rice, it was time for him to rush and get to class before his professor noticed his absence. He was aiming for perfect attendance, so he couldn’t risk it. 

Yukhei ran through campus, his backpack sliding off of his shoulders as he cut corners as fast as he could. The building where his classes were being held came into view. He sprinted the last thirty feet, when a familiar figure caught his attention. He stopped dead in his tracks, his backpack falling to the ground. Yukhei hurried to pick it up, before making his way towards the person standing in front of the wide glass doors. 

Donghyuck was idly scrolling through his phone, a pair of earphones dangling from his ears. Yukhei had to collect himself. He took a deep breath in, passing a hand through his hair, whispering a _Fighting!_ to himself before he stood in front of the shorter boy. He could already feel a smile pulling at his lips. 

“Good morning!”

Donghyuck didn’t even flinch, his attention still trained on his phone. Yukhei jumped a couple of times in place, wiggling from side to side.

“Hellooo.” He bent down, placing his face right in front of Donghyuck’s one. “Hyuck, hey!”

At that, Donghyuck moved his eyes upwards, catching sight of Yukhei’s vibrant smile. His right eye twitched, infinitesimally so. Yukhei was satisfied enough in his progress, since he had seen Donghyuck’s eye spasm so hard that he had considered suggesting his friend he got that checked. 

“Hi.” Donghyuck said, taking a couple of steps back. 

“What are you doing here? I’ve never seen you around this place.” Yukhei was sure that Donghyuck had classes on the opposite side of campus. 

“Waiting for a friend.”

“Oh, cool!” That did explain why he was waiting there. “I have classes.”

Donghyuck went back to tapping on his phone. “Mh-hm.”

“I’ve never had perfect attendance in high school, but I am trying to get it now!” Yukhei hadn’t exactly been a model student back in the day. He hadn’t enjoyed studying that much either, it was just another thing that he had to do if he didn’t want his parents to take away his PS4. 

“Neat-o.” 

Yukhei rocked on the balls of his feet, finding it hard to stop staring at the way Donghyuck’s hair shone under the pale sun. He wasn’t sure if it was either red or brown. It was a mixture of both probably. 

“I did wake up late today, but it’s only because whoever lives above me uses a vacuum cleaner at 3 am. Like, who does that!”

“Mh, crazy, right.”

“Yeah! And I think that they have a washing machine in their apartment too, because there is this really rumbly sound, kinda like _brrr_. And it’s cool if they like to keep their stuff clean, but I’m like. Mate. That shit works over time, you get it?”

“ _Mate_.” Donghyuck whispered under his breath, biting back a laugh. 

Yukhei took that small laughter as positive reinforcement, his heart thrumming happily in his ribcage. He was ready to dive back into conversation, when Donghyuck turned around all of a sudden. There was a dark haired boy coming out of the building, holding a bunch of what looked like art supplies. 

“Gotta go.” Donghyuck said. “See you.” 

“Ah… yeah.” 

Yukhei watched on as the two started to walk away. Donghyuck always walked with his head up high, like he was ready to take on whatever was going to be thrown in his way. However, he also tended to slump more often than not, his shoulders framing his figure and making him look even smaller, especially when he was busy sketching something.

Lost in his thoughts, Yukhei still hadn’t taken his eyes off of Donghyuck’s sunlit profile, when the latter turned around and caught his stare. 

“Go to class, idiot.” He called out.

Just like that, Yukhei snapped out of his reverie. He looked at his watch and realized that he was running twenty minutes late. “Oh, shit!” 

In his haste, he risked face-planting against the swinging doors, but eventually managed to sneak into class without getting caught. 

He powered through the rest of the day with a sort of restless energy that had seeped into his bones. It wasn’t simple to concentrate on what the teacher was saying and to take notes. He had to resort to slapping himself once on his thigh to regain focus — thankfully, no one was sitting next to him. 

Once classes were over for the day, Yukhei took the long way home, his eyes skittishly looking around in search of a familiar figure. However, he didn’t find who he had been searching for, so he sulked the rest of the way. 

“You’re home early,” Kun called out.

Yukhei closed the door behind him, taking off his shoes and kicking them to the side. 

“Aren’t you meeting up with your friends today?” His roommate popped his head out of his room, waving at Yukhei. 

“Nah, Mark’s busy in the recording studio.” 

Kun nodded, leaning against the frame of his door. “I see. What about the other kid?” 

Yukhei threw himself on the sofa, making the throw-pillows fall on the floor. He blindly reached out to picked them up while still fusing with the comfortable cushions. 

“Hyuck’s busy, too. I think.” He mumbled, face squashed against the soft material. 

Mark had texted Yukhei letting him know that he’d be busy all week recording some new tracks, but Donghyuck hadn’t told him anything. Yukhei had simply guessed that he must have been busy, seeing how he had to meet up with that friend of his, or whatever. 

It wasn’t like Yukhei had been dying to receive a text. Not at all. 

“You think,” Kun repeated, hovering over Yukhei’s slouched body. 

“It’s complicated.”

Kun took a seat on the armrest of the couch. “That’s unusual. Are things between you guys okay?” 

Yukhei muttered something unintelligible into the cushions, making random gestures with his arms. It wasn’t that things between them weren’t _okay_. It’s just that thing between them simply _weren’t_. Yukhei had a hard time conveying that. 

“Okay, that’s enough sulking for today,” Kun said, while patting his head. “I had something I wanted to mention you.”

At that, Yukhei turned on his back, facing his friend upside-down. “What?”

“There’s a friend of mine who’s coming over after finals. He asked if he could stay here instead of looking for an accomodation. Is it okay with you?” 

“Sure! I’m fine with that.” 

Kun smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you.”

“Where will he be sleeping?” Yukhei asked. Aside from the couch and their respective beds there weren’t many places where someone could sleep in their apartment. 

“We will figure it out.” Kun replied, standing up and moving to pick up his phone on the coffee table. 

“How about take-out tonigh—”

Yukhei jerked to a sitting position with all of his might, his hair flopping in his eyes. “PIZZA!” 

Kun laughed, his fingers moving over the keyboard as he typed in the number to their favorite pizza place. Yukhei really had the _best_ roommate ever.

 

 

The season was slowly changing, naked trees standing tall against the chillier winds. Autumn was leaving space to winter, which meant that finals were slowly approaching. Yukhei was back to sleeping less than five hours a night and living off of energy bars crushed into Red Bulls. He wasn’t complaining though, because the grueling late nights spent trying to cram in his head heaps of legal terms were brightened by the presence of Donghyuck. 

Yukhei was well aware that his first impression on the younger had been less than stellar, but he tried not to think about it too much. It wasn’t worth crying over spilled milk (quite literally). The thing was that he had just been a bit too starstruck by Donghyuck. 

The first time he had heard Mark talk about his best friend, he had immediately thought how the kid must have looked like one of those brace-faced nerds who read school books for fun. He couldn’t be blamed though, since Mark had always bragged about how _smart_ and _talented_ his friend was when it came to technology. Yukhei wasn’t proud of his stereotypical depiction, but he had nothing to work off of other than his imagination. 

That was until, sometime into the end of their first year, Mark had excitedly typed in their group chat how Donghyuck had graduated and he was going to attend their college. Attached to that message, was a picture of Mark standing next to a slightly shorter boy who was smiling widely. 

The first thing Yukhei had thought was _He doesn’t wear braces_. The second was that he looked really… pretty. 

Donghyuck looked nothing like Yukhei had imagined. He seemed like one of those kids who preferred to spend their time playing some sport outside, rather than building things in a closed room.

Yukhei didn’t get the time to send a reply to the group chat that messages from the others were already clogging up the whole timeline. 

And just like that, thoughts of Donghyuck were swept far away to the back of Yukhei’s mind. He had almost forgotten about the boy, until the week right before the start of his second year. Mark had told them how he would have loved to introduce them to his best friend, and just like that, Yukhei, Jungwoo, Jaehyun and Johnny were sitting at their usual café, waiting. 

Yukhei doesn’t remember what exactly went through his head when Mark arrived, followed by his friend, but he remembers feeling like he wasn’t fully himself. There was something in Donghyuck’s presence that made his skin itch with the need to fill the silence and get a reaction out of the boy. It was the spark of something akin to fondness, and Yukhei marveled at how it merely took Donghyuck to speak a few words to feel it simmer in his stomach. 

From there, getting closer to Donghyuck had become quite a pressing matter for Yukhei. Each time he heard him talk about his interests, he couldn’t refrain himself from speaking up. His mouth would blurt out whatever seemed even barely relevant to the matter, his brain shutting down completely and letting his instincts take over. 

As days passed, Yukhei realized how Donghyuck had started to avoid his eyes, or how he would miss more and more study sessions at the library. It shouldn’t have mattered, really. They barely knew each other, yet Yukhei couldn’t shake the guilt that he felt. 

“You need to let the kid breathe.” Johnny had said to him one evening.

They were playing basketball in a court nearby their campus. The floodlights were illuminating the red concrete, blinding Yukhei whenever he jumped for the hoop. Johnny laughed at his failed shoots with unveiled satisfaction. 

Jaehyun was there, too. The three of them liked to unwind from time to time, spending a couple of hours challenging each other and sweating off the stress that had piled up during the week. However, since the elders had both started their last year, it had become more and more difficult for them to meet up. 

“You’re scaring him off.” Johnny added, dribbling the ball in between in legs. 

“I don’t want to scare him! I’m just trying to… connect.” Yukhei finished lamely.

From the sidelines where he was drinking from his water bottle, Jaehyun snorted. “You might want to change your approach.” 

Johnny threw the ball at Yukhei, who caught it in his hands. The orange material felt rough under his fingertips. He spun it on the tip of his index finger, furrowing his brows. 

“What do i do?” Yukhei didn’t want to be a downer, but he really couldn’t help the whine from escaping his lips. 

In the blink of an eye, Jaehyun snatched the ball from him, sending him one of his bright smiles. 

“First off, calm down. Looking this desperate doesn’t suit you.” 

“I’m not desperate!” Yukhei piped up. He could feel the tips of his ears going red, but maybe that was just the heat from the game. 

Johnny raised his eyebrows at him, sending him a skeptic look. 

They resumed the game, all matters forgotten as they dribbled and ran after the ball. Jaehyun scored a three pointer, high fiving Johnny. It was starting to get late, and Yukhei could feel the pull of exhaustion on his limbs. His muscles were screaming for a break, so he suggested they called it a night. His two friends agreed, and they all slumped on the ground for a moment, catching their breath. 

“I wonder though…” Johnny started, dangling his head from side to side and leveling Yukhei with a smirk. “Why are you so interested in Donghyuck.” 

On his other side, Jaehyun laughed. “Yeah, I’m _awfully_ curious, too.” 

Yukhei played around with the ball that was resting on his crossed legs. He shrugged, a way to buy time and actually find words to answer to his friends. Words were hard, he wasn’t good with them. Yet, he guessed that he’d need to come to terms with voicing out his thoughts if he wanted to make it out of Law School. 

“He’s cool.” Yukhei pursued his lips. “I like his hair.” 

Johnny broke out in guffaws, holding his belly. Jaehyun was silently laughing to himself, his face covered by his hands. 

Once Johnny calmed down, he heaved out a breath. “You’re so cute, Yukhei.” 

Yukhei didn’t say anything, just stayed in place, fiddling with his thumbs, as Jaehyun and Johnny both started to pack their things. He really needed to work on his exposition. It wasn’t even clear if what he needed to sort out were his motives behind wanting to get closer to Donghyuck or his ability to sort out the inner workings of his mind. 

A heavy weight settled in Yukhei’s stomach, a feeling that clashed with the one he felt whenever the younger was near him. 

“You coming along?” Jaehyun asked him. Johnny and he were standing by the gate, their sport-bags dangling from their shoulders.

“Yeah,” Yukhei replied. 

He packed up his stuff and checked to make sure he hadn’t left anything behind before he followed his friends out of the court and into the darker streets.

 

 

Yukhei couldn’t fall asleep. 

The alarm clock on his nightstand read 2 am, the digits blinking tiredly with the passing of each and every second. Finals had come and gone in a blink, leaving him a wreck. His law books were haphazardly thrown all over his room, sign of how much of a restless reviewer he was. 

As usual, it would take him some days to readjust his sleeping schedule, but for now he was left sulking, his mind wondering. It was fluctuating between that state of enlightenment and idiocy that permeated the nighttime darkness. 

Yukhei was sprawled on his bed, head hanging off the edge. He was clutching his phone in his hands, his arms getting sore from the uncomfortable position. He had been opening and closing random apps for the past half hour, checking his messages each time he clicked out of one. His most recent one was from Kun telling him that he was going to stay over at a friend’s house. 

All of his group chats were dead too, probably due to the hour of the night.

“Ugh… boring.” Yukhei muttered. 

He opened his contact list next, scrolling down all the way to the letter _H_ where he had saved Donghyuck’s ( _Hyuckie_ ) number. Yukhei had added a couple of sun emojis and a little star right before the name. It fit well. 

Since that night after he had asked for the boy’s number, Yukhei had been hoping to get a message from him. He had made it clear enough that it was _more than okay_ if Donghyuck wanted to contact him, yet nothing but radio silence ensued. It wasn’t unexpected, though; Yukhei had taken into account the possibility. He was also well aware of the fact that he couldn’t put pressure on Donghyuck either, which meant that texting first would have been a bad move. 

They had just started getting along, he couldn’t risk ruining everything.

As the clock ticked on though, boredom started mixing with antsiness. Yukhei was tired, his eyes burning from staring at the bright phone screen in the darkness of his room. His neck was hurting from the position he was in, and blood was getting to his head. Worst of all, Yukhei was desperate for something, and his thoughts kept on tangling and untangling into ever growing coils.

One single idea started forming then, a tiny bulb diffusing a weak light. It was childish, he was well aware of that, but he just needed a way to kill time. 

Yukhei double clicked the home button, Siri’s robotic voice questioning whether he needed something.

“Hey Siri, would Donghyuck ever text me?” Yukhei muttered into the receiver. 

It felt kind of like shaking an eight-ball, or plucking petals from a daisy. Only Siri was the Millenials’ variant to those things.

What he wasn’t expecting though, was the question that followed. 

“ _Send message to Donghyuck?_ ”

“What?!” Yukhei startled, risking to fall off the bed. In his haste to not break his head against the floor, his phone slipped from his hands and landed smack dab on his face. 

“ _Sending message to Donghyuck._ ”

“WHAT!” With unsteady hands, he picked up his phone and watched on in horror as a message got sent to Donghyuck. 

_Will you ever text me?_

Yukhei didn’t know what to do, so he did the only reasonable thing he could think of: panic. He pulled out his laptop, googling different variants of _How to unsend a text_ or _How to leave the country on a budget_. 

He was researching what kind of foreign name would fit him best, when the Skype icon pinged with a new notification. It was a message from Jungwoo asking him why he was still awake. 

_Yukhei: bro help me, do you think that Lucas would fit me?_

_Jungwoo: ???_

_Yukhei: i need to change my name_

_Jungwoo: Why? What’s happening?_

_Yukhei: i messed up_

_Yukhei: i sent a text to hyuck and now he’s gonna hate me_

_Yukhei: he’s gonna rlly hate me jun_

_Yukhei: i don’t want him to hate me_

_Jungwoo: Calm down he won’t hate you_

_Yukhei: really???_

_Jungwoo: Yes, really_

_Jungwoo: What did you send him_

Yukhei told his friend about the content of the text and how he had mistakenly sent it. As he recounted the mishap, he thought about sending Jungwoo a screenshot, but he couldn’t bring himself to pick his phone back up again. 

_Jungwoo: It will be fine, he won’t be mad_

_Yukhei: u don’t know this_

_Jungwoo: Just wait for his reply_

_Jungwoo: Anyway it’s late, he might not have even seen it_

_Yukhei: i am never looking at my phone ever again_

_Yukhei: no i lied, im gonna check it_

_Jungwoo: …_

_Yukhei: HE HAS SEEN IT WHAT DO I DO_

_Jungwoo: Wait for a reply_

Ten minutes went by, the little _Read_ text camping right under Yukhei’s message, yet no reply to it from Donghyuck. It was maddening. 

_Yukhei: HE HATES ME_

_Yukhei: I WILL DIE IF HE HATES ME JUN_

Right as Yukhei was seconds away from going on another rant to his friend, his phone buzzed on his bed. He stopped his ministrations, fingers poised over his keyboard. He slowly turned his head to the side, the screen lit up with a notification. 

_**Donghyuck** _  
_are you drunk_

Yukhei fell on his back, kicking his feet in the air. He muffled a scream in his pillow and rushed to write to Jungwoo. 

_Yukhei: HE ANSWERED_

_Yukhei: HE DOESN’T HATE ME_

_Yukhei: WHAT DO I SAY_

_Jungwoo: Omggg!!! What did he send youuu_

_Yukhei: he asked me if im drunj_

_Yukhei: *drunk_

_Jungwoo: Text back!!!_

Yukhei didn’t need to be told twice. He opened his chat with Donghyuck, two single messages looking up at him. He typed the first thing that popped up in his mind and sent it, damned if he had to fry his brain thinking too much over it. 

_**Yukhei** _  
_nooo im not drunk!!!!!!!!_

_**Donghyuck** _  
_that sounds like something a drunk person would say_

Donghyuck was texting him back. It was happening. Yukhei couldn’t wipe off the smile from his face as he sent a reply. He was so giddy that he jumped to his feet and threw his arms in the air in a victory dance. 

_**Yukhei** _  
_how do youuuuu know how a drunk person sounds likeeee_

_**Donghyuck** _  
_are u implying that i am an alcoholic_

_**Yukhei** _  
_no!!!!!!!!_

_**Donghyuck** _  
_i was kidding omg_

_**Donghyuck** _  
_get tf to bed u giant baby_

_**Donghyuck** _  
_god knows i need sleep too_

Yukhei had to hold in a gasp as he read the messages over and over. His breath hitched each time his eyes went over the word _baby_. He had to calm down, he was being delirious at that point. 

_**Yukhei** _  
_yes get some rest zzzzzzzzzzz_

_**Yukhei** _  
_see u hyuck!!!!!_

_**Donghyuck** _  
_sure_

Yukhei tapped two fingers on his mouth as he debated whether it was a good idea replying or not, but he screwed everything and sent one last text to Donghyuck. 

_**Yukhei** _  
_goodnight!_

Yukhei didn’t know when or how he had fallen asleep, his head resting where his feet were supposed to be, but he’s sure that he woke up to the beeping sound of his alarm. He kicked at it with his foot, the small device falling to the floor and shutting up immediately. 

Something cold was pressing against his cheek, and when he checked to see what it was, he realized that it was his phone. Slowly, memories from the night started to rush back to Yukhei. Had he dreamt about everything? Was Donghyuck messaging him some kind of weird fever dream?

Yukhei hesitated to press the home button, but once he did, a single, unread message camped on the main page.

_**Donghyuck** _  
_night_

Yukhei laughed out loud. Maybe he really was running a fever.

**Author's Note:**

> [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/magicalgirlsprinkles)


End file.
